Do you know what questions to ask when it comes to buying a car?

Buying a car can be one of the most exciting purchases you will ever make, but anyone who has ever gone through the process will know that there’s a lot more to it than just picking a vehicle that looks good, drives well and comes at a good price.

While we all know we should check under the bonnet before committing to a sale, there could be plenty more going on under the surface than meets the eye.

A staggering one in three used cars could have a hidden history, from cars that have previously been written off in an accident, to motors that have had their odometers clocked, it is important you know exactly what you need to look for and ask, to ensure you really know the history of the car you are purchasing.

If you’re in the market for a second hand car then watch our live used car clinic with motoring expert Vicki Butler-Henderson who in association with AutoCheck will be giving advice on the types of questions you need to ask and the signs you need to look for to make sure you’re getting the real deal.

Vicki Butler-Henderson joins us live to share her top tips for getting a good deal.

For more information on navigating the second hand car industry or simply to check a car you are hoping to buy has no hidden problems: visit www.autocheck.co.uk

H: Kevin Harris, host

A: Vicky Butler-Henderson

H: On today’s show we’ll be looking at everything that you need to know when it comes to navigating the second hand car marketplace. From choosing the car that’s right for you to those all important questions that you’re going to have to ask when it comes to buying that all important purchase

Titles

H: Hello and welcome to the Consumer Advice show I’m Kevin Harris. Now for most of us buying a car is one of the most costly purchases that we’ll have to make, second probably to buying our home, and if you’re buying a used car then not only do you need to ensure that you’re getting a good deal but you also need to make sure that you’re not buying something that comes with a less than favourable hidden history. Well I’m pleased to say joining me here today to discuss this is a familiar face from the world of motoring, and she’s certainly expert on the topic, Vicky Butler-Henderson

A: Hello

H: Hi Vicky. So before we join Vicky just time for me to tell you what’s coming up on the show today. So first up we’ll be helping you choose the used car that is right for you. We’ll also give you the information that you need to be a savvy consumer, and so you know what to ask when you’re buying that all-important second-hand car, and of course a little bit later on we’ll be answering all of your questions live. And on that note of course if you do want to drop us a question or a comment you can do so using the box on your screen, just click the send button and if you’re a Tweeter like me and many of us these days, then please just Tweet your questions in – easier typed than said! – just make sure you use the #StudioTalkTV and we’ll do our best to answer as many as we can over the next 15 minutes. So Vicky thanks very much for coming in

A: Oh it’s my pleasure; it’s lovely to be here

H: Well the good news is that both of us have never bought a new car, we’ve only ever bought anything but used

A: Yes that is very true, I think there’s a big thing about depreciation and as soon as you buy a new car, you drive it literally out of the showroom and you’ve immediately lost money on it which is why when you’re as tight as I am

H: And as poor as me!

A: You buy second-hand

H: Exactly, but now you’re an expert on the topic, I’m somebody who is governed purely by price to be honest, but when you are going to buy a used car many, many people are going to be bombarded by the choice that they have. How can they be sure that they’re getting the right type of car for them?

A: Well this is the thing, when you buy a car you usually fall in love with it and you let your heart rule your head

H: Yes

A: And a recent survey by Autocheck has shown that one in three cars has a hidden history

H: Right

A: One in three cars, I mean when you go and look at buying a car you might pick 5 cars for example that you like the look of

H: Yes

A: And almost two of those will have had a hidden history. And things like that range from having finance outstanding on them which means that if you go and buy that car you don’t actually own it, the finance company still owns it

H: Right

A: And can come and take it away from you

H: Doesn’t sound good at all

A: So you’ve lost money, no, it can be an insurance write-off, it can have been stolen and recorded as stolen by the police and be on their records, and also could have been clocked. So they’re the four key things that we need – that are really hidden

H: Yes they are

A: And really we’ll never know unless we get the car checked out by a company like Autocheck before you buy it

H: Right well we’ll come to that shortly, but even before we get to that point, you or I or whoever it is has to decide what type of car they need, and it’s not just a choice these days of saloon or hatchback, there’s all manner of variants of car these days

A: Yes when I was a little girl, which obviously wasn’t very long ago,

H: Not long ago

A: But you’ve got – you know if you wanted a family car, you bought a family car, a Mondeo for example, if you wanted a hatchback, you know you bought a VW Golf and if you wanted an off-roader you bought a Range Rover and that was pretty much it

H: That was it yes

A: There are so many niche products now that

H: Absolutely

A: That it is confusing so first of all you need to probably get a pen and paper and write down what you need to do and what kind of journeys you do

H: Yes exactly just be very aware of the person you are or the family you are and just buy for your needs like for a young mum with two children or a pensioner or someone my age or someone like yourself

A: Yes. Well if you’re a young mum, say with two kids, you’re going to want a 5 door car

H: Yes

A: Because as new mum myself I know what it’s like sort of hooning in a child’s car seat in a 3 door car, it just doesn’t work so 5 doors is immediately what you’re going to want

H: Yes

A: So I would recommend something like a VW Golf or maybe a Kia Ceed

H: Right

A: With Kia at the minute and a couple of other manufacturers, they are giving new cars a 7 year warrantee

H: I’ve seen this

A: Which is fabulous, but if you buy that car when it’s two years old, you have still got a 5 year manufacturer warrantee left on it

H: Yes, that’s amazing

A: Which is great piece of mind for you know a young family, so that would be my top tips, one of my top two –

H: Absolutely, you’ve just got to keep your eyes peeled for these warrantees, like you said more and more Kia you mentioned there, but more and more dealers are trying to entice people in the first instance, so that’s good for all of us who are buying used cars. What about a commuter for example, someone who probably lives in the commuter belt in London, in and out of London, I don’t know, 100 mile round trip every day or something

A: Well you need to work out how many miles you do a day and you need to work out then whether you need to buy a petrol car or a diesel car, so – at the minute diesel’s what about £1.40 a litre and petrol’s £1.30 a litre, so you need to work out if it’s cost effective, if it’s going to be cost effective –

H: Are we still getting more miles out of diesel than we are petrol cars, or is that kind of getting –

A: It depends how many you do

H: Closer and closer?

A: If you do about – if you do around 16,000 miles a year and more then diesel is – will work for you. If you do less than that then go for petrol because it’s a bit more fun as well

H: Right ok. Still even?

A: Well there’s some great – turbo diesel engines are very frugal, very efficient and you get a good bit of tork low down, so you get good acceleration out of diesel turbo diesel engines, but I’m just a purist

H: Absolutely

A: And I still quite like my V8 petrol

H: Still a petrol head. That’s fine, that’s absolutely fine.

A: So for a commuter I would recommend something like a BMW 3 series diesel

H: Yes

A: Great second-hand buy, it would be very comfortable on motorway journeys and would return good, about 50 miles to the gallon so that would be my top tip today

H: Good one. What about, I was once a student, I daresay in your life you perhaps have been as well, no?

A: Never a student, I never –

H: Too bad, best stage of your life

A: I know, I missed out on that

H: Well I had what could probably typically be called a student car after I’d left uni I was in full-time employment, I had an Austin Legro, 1.3 HL as we mentioned earlier, great car

A: Yes. HL stands for?

H: Higher luxury, different trim, different trim. But anyway if you are a student and you know your pockets aren’t that deep, what are we thinking of there, can you still get a bargain worth having?

A: You can, you can buy cars for £50

H: Yes

A: But I, you know I wouldn’t sit here and recommend a car for £50 will see you through your student years at all

H: No exactly

A: You need to look at a car that’s going to be low insurance, cheap to run and incredibly reliable because as a student you haven’t got money to take it in and out of the garage

H: No

A: So cars that come from Japan or Germany traditionally

H: Right

A: Sit well in reliability surveys, so think you know VW, BMW, Toyota, Honda – so maybe a Toyota Yaris

H: Yes,

A: a good small run-around or a Honda Civic

H: Yes

A: Would be two good cars for –

H: Honda Civic’s a fun car as well

A: Yes, yes I’ve had a few of them in my time

H: Nice one

A: The V-tech obviously, top end

H: Without question! V-Tech, sporty little number for someone like yourself, not ideal for a pensioner perhaps

A: No

H: Unless a particularly racy pensioner

A: Well yes you never know. I will be a pensioner one day so I’m hoping that Formula One cars will be road legal by the time I get to 60. I think for a pensioner they obviously reliability is going to be a key thing

H: Yes

A: And also as a pensioner you don’t want to be squatting down into a Lotus Elise every day

H: No absolutely

A: For example, so my recommendation would be somewhere along the lines of a Honda Jazz

H: Oh ok

A: Where you can just pretty much step into it almost

H: Yes I’ve seen that one

A: So that you don’t, there’s no problem with mobility, getting in and out, so that would be my – and they’re a good practical size as well

H: Yes. And speaking about practicality there, these days as well where I live I have to buy a residents parking permit, now this is all to do with cost and practicality as well, but my borough in London are giving us a reduction in a parking permit if we have a lower emitting car, and this is something else that I don’t know whether you can even factor this in as a consideration, cars that are green, I think that 100g of CO2 or whatever it is

A: Or less

H: Or less gets you a cheaper parking permit and discounts I think on your road fun license as well

A: Yes that’s right, absolutely

H: Can you factor that in to used cars or –

A: I think you definitely can, but that would be more for you as a monthly outgoing situation rather than actually an initial cost when you actually buy the car, but it is definitely something to think about. Electric cars, hybrid cars, no congestion charge

H: Exactly yes

A: So free parking in certain areas, parking meters are springing up in towns so they might make sense for you to look at an electric car if your journey is 15 miles into town, 15 miles back again you can, you don’t have to pay the congestion charge

H: No exactly, yes

A: And if your company has a good extension lead you can plug it in

H: Plug it in

A: Next to your computer!

H: Why not?

A: Trail the lead out the window, it is doable, it’s worth thinking alternatively

H: Alternative fuels, alternative you know power sources. What about and this is no reflection to me or myself or anyone but – mid-life crisis. You want a sporty number; you’ve suddenly gone “now I can afford one”

A: Yes exactly

H: You want it – you want it when you’re in your 20s but you can’t have it, so you have it later in life

A: Because you can’t afford it

H: You can’t afford it

A: No totally. I think for that women or men –

H: Go on

A: Wanting a mid-life crisis, or having a mid-life crisis and wanting something fun, a Caterham is always terrific fun and you can actually build your own car, so there’s a great thing for you and the kids to do maybe in the garage at the weekend, to build your own car. I personally wouldn’t do it because I don’t trust myself

H: No

A: But a Caterham’s great, two seater

H: Right

A: Wind in the hair motoring and also there are so many good motor racing series which accommodate Catherhams,

H: Of course

A: but if you then felt the need to have more of an adrenalin rush, then you could even think about taking your racing license, and then race in your road going Caterham

H: Yes

A: And I think that would be a great –

H: Good advice

A: Or an Ariel Atom

H: An Ariel Atom

A: An Ariel Atom, it’s just a space frame

H: I’ve seen those

A: Again a two seater but it has no window, no doors, no roof, nothing, it’s pure –

H: Pure fun

A: Yes, you and the elements and that’s great fun as well

H: Great stuff

A: Those two would be –

H: Good choices, I’m going to note them down and speak to you afterwards

A: Ok

H: Lovely thanks Vicky. Well don’t go anywhere because after this short break we’ll be coming back with more great advice with Vicky, certainly on how you can make the right choice when you’re buying a used car. See you in two

Break

H: So welcome back to the Consumer Show, I’m Kevin Harris and I’m pleased to say that I am joined by Vicky Butler-Henderson and we’re chatting all things used cars, and the good news is Vicks, they’re obviously enjoying what we’re saying – you can’t see this but in front of me here I’ve got all manner of questions that have been tweeted in and sent in. We’ve got Dave Fisher in London; he’s put “will the price of hybrid cars come down over time as more and more people buy them?” We’ve mentioned them briefly but what about price?

A: I think the answer to that is yes, definitely yes, it’s like mobile phones when they first came out

H: Yes

A: You know they were massive, cumbersome and cost an absolute fortune but nowadays much smaller, much more portable and don’t cost very much at all

H: No

A: The same will happen with hybrid cars or fully electric cars, the more that are out there the cheaper they will eventually become. We’re getting there

H: Yes definitely

A: You know, but we’re not quite there yet. Hybrid cars, you’ve got the Toyota Prius and the Honda Civic hybrid, they’re two of the most popular ones and they are great because you can get adults in them, they’re not – you know they are very practical and you can use the electric motor around town and then when you need a bit more oomph and you need to get out of town and you need to go away for 150 miles then the petrol engine kicks in

H: Kicks in

A: Yes

H: I’ve been in those quite a few times and when you pull up at the lights it stops and it’s all quiet and you’re kind of thinking has it turned itself off, of course it’s electric so it just picks up again

A: Quite a few petrol cars do that now; they’ve got a stop / start system

H: That’s true

A: Where they turn themselves off and they just operate again once you release the clutch or press the accelerator if it’s an automatic, which is great because that keeps the fuel in the tank for a bit longer

H: Keeps the fuel in the tank and it’s good for everyone.

A: Yes

H: Another question here, this is from Julia, she’s in Portsmouth and she’s put “I’m looking for a reliable, cheap car which won’t be too expensive when it comes to insurance, tax and petrol” – good idea Julia – “any thoughts, and she’s put in “I’m not too fussy about anything, nothing too snazzy.” Good use of “snazzy”

A: Well I think – I’m not quite sure what Julia’s situation is

H: No

A: Whether she’s got children or whether she needs a run-around at all, I’m not sure, but she needs to obviously work out what she needs from a car and anything really would suit whether it be as I said earlier a 5 door Golf if she’s got kids or something, a Toyota Yaris if she just wants to be slightly frugal

H: Yes definitely

A: With her money and keep the insurance and the fuel costs down

H: Yes definitely

A: So I can’t help her massively because I’m not quite sure what her –

H: No exactly.

A: Or a lovely big Range Rover or a BMW X5, I’m not sure. Second-hand they’re fantastic value actually yes, both of them

H: Speaking of which, we’re talking about used cars, you mentioned second-hand straight away there – what sort of questions should Julia and Dave and Lucy and everyone else who’s emailed in – it’s quite a daunting task going to buy a second-hand car, you always feel like you want to take your dad or you know your mate’s dad or somebody with you, but what sort of questions should our viewers be asking when they turn up on the drive of somebody’s house to buy a car?

A: Well I think the first thing to do is when you telephone, telephone the owner of the car that you’re interested in, is to get a pen and paper and ask some questions and write down their answers, so I’m coming to see your car, what damage has it got on it?

H: Right

A: Ok and if he or she says it’s got a bit of a dent in the front wing and there’s some rust on the rear quarter

H: Yes

A: You write that down and then when you go and see the car, work out that that’s all correct and then you know that he’s being truthful with you

H: Yes, yeah yeah yeah

A: So ask those kind of questions, what MOT has it got left on it, what’s the tax on it, what sort of history has it got, how many owners has it had – write these answers down so you can then go and co-obberate that evidence

H: Yes absolutely

A: When you see the car and the owner. When you go to see the car, make sure that you visit the seller’s house

H: Right ok

A: Don’t meet in a car park because –

H: Again it comes back to the history of the car

A: Exactly yes, so go to the seller’s house and watch them come out of the front door

H: Right

A: Because they might have just borrowed somebody’s drive who’s away on holiday, you never know. So – and then once you’re at the address make sure that the V5C document which is the car’s passport document, the address on that corresponds with the address that you’re at

H: Yes

A: So immediately you know then that you’re pretty much in a Kosher place

H: Yes you’re on the way

A: And hopefully you’re on the way to having a good car. So that would be my first tip when buying

H: Right

A: Then have a good look around the car. If you have got a friend who is slightly mechanically minded, fantastic, take them along. Take the car for a test drive

H: You’ve got to take it for a test drive

A: You must take it for a test drive because you could buy the car and the first time you turn the key is on the drive leaving, and you’ve paid cash and the seller says “oh it doesn’t work, I’m so sorry. Bye bye.” End of story. So go and take it for a test drive. Also just be aware that the annual average mileage of a car is about 12,000 miles

H: Right ok

A: So if you have that figure in your mind then when you’re shown a car that’s done perhaps 50,000 miles, it said it’s done 50,000 miles and you’ve got a very, very worn driver’s seat, a shiny steering wheel, worn pedals, you should be able to twig that oh no that’s done about 100,000 miles and you’re trying to tell me it’s done 50,000 miles, that doesn’t quite sit right – so if alarm bells are ringing, be very, very vigilant. And I would then say get every car that you’re about to buy, get it checked out for hidden history.

H: And where – I’m loving the fact that you say check the seat, check the steering wheel – only somebody who knows about cars who’s bought and sold them would even think of that. That’s a great little hidden – you know –

A: Because the driver’s seat is the one that gets worn the most because you’re the one who gets in and out all the time, so the side of the seat gets gently worn away each time, so –

H: Fascinating. And where can people go to get more advice, checking it’s hidden history?

A: Well there are – you can – there are online companies such as Autocheck

H: Yes

A: Who will happily for a measly £5 check the history of a car and give you peace of mind and if it comes up as red alert and Autocheck says this car has got a history, it’s up to you then to say oh I’m fine with that, but you shouldn’t be

H: No exactly

A: You should walk away

H: Walk away

A: Totally

H: Yes yes. So it’s autocheck.co.uk?

A: Yes

H: Alright, brilliant stuff. Let’s have a look at Jono Taylor, he’s tweeted a question, thanks Jono – “is there anything that a seller, private or trade must answer legally when asked if it later turns out not to be true are they responsible for it?” So he’s kind of like follow-up – if they tell you something and further down the line it turns out not to be true, are they responsible, can they just fib to you I suppose is what –

A: Yes they can pretty much fib because if you sold me a car and you said to me oh, it’s got 50,000 miles I say oh thanks very much, I go away, I then sell it on, somebody more vigilant than me gets it checked out and it turns out to have done 150,000 miles – I have got – I can’t come back to you –

H: No you can’t

A: And say you sold me a pup, because you’ll be like no no – so it’s very, very hard. Buyer beware, it’s up to us to make sure that we do the checks so take the onus on you

H: Right lovely, thanks for that. Shelley is next, she’s put “are there certain parts of a second-hand car which if they’re rusty you should be concerned about?” You don’t see many rusty cars on the roads these days

A: Not a huge amount but –

H: Any particularly –

A: I’ve got a Mark 2 Golf GTI from 1989 and that has got a bit of rust underneath

H: Right

A: Where the roads have been salted quite often in the last couple of winters that we’ve had and I have neglected to give it a bath underneath, so that salt has started to erode away the metal and I’ve had to have a bit of welding done on it

H: Yes

A: I – you won’t see that unless you get under the car and have a look so she needs to get a little bit dirty

H: Yes

A: And go and have a look underneath the car, and if rust is literally flaking off

H: Yes

A: On – suspension-wise or chassis-wise then yes this is going to be a major issue

H: Yes

A: If there’s a small rust problem – rust area on the bonnet, on some paint work or on a door, something that can be smoothed down and then re-sprayed over, that is not a problem

H: No

A: But it is structural rust I would try and look – of course it can be repaired but if you want an easy, quick buy of a car, move on

H: Just walk away. And that’s the thing there are so many used cars available to buy there’s no need to jump in with the first one is there?

A: Yes. But if you do your research, if you spend a month, two months looking at websites or looking in car magazines, that have cars for sale that you’re vaguely interested in, you’ll very quickly understand what kind of a car you can get for the money and what kind of mileage you should be looking at, and once in a while a gem will pop up and it literally will be one careful lady owner, never raced nor rallied and stored in a garage

H: And ten reckless men

A: Yes but you will find that gem that’s been – that’s had hardly any miles done on it and it’s just been so loved and then in for the kill

H: Go for it

A: You’ll have a peach, yes

H: Follow your head not your heart, do your research and get them checked

A: Yes

H: Autocheck.co.uk. Brilliant stuff. Vicky sadly that is all we’ve got time for, we could chat all day

A: We could

H: We were chatting about F1 and used cars and all sorts before but we’ve come to an end, thanks very much for coming in

A: Thank you very much, thank you to everybody as well who’s taken the time to write in so thank you

H: Yes, yes exactly, lovely so thank you to all of our viewers and of course everyone who has tweeted in, that is all we have time for but don’t forget if you are thinking about buying a used car, it’s autocheck.co.uk to get that hidden history looked at, and we’ll see you next time, but bye for now